Photo: Alex Popovkin, Bahia, Brazil, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Shade mudflower
Micranthemum umbrosum (J.F.Gmel.) S.F.Blake
10–15 cm
Height in the aquarium
medium to high
Light
medium
CO₂ needs
22–24 °C
Ideal temperature
Water parameters
Understand these values- Position
- midground, foreground
- Propagation
- cuttings, separating offshoots
- Uses
- nano tank
- Grows emersed
- yes
In the wild
Overview
This Micranthemum forms a light green stand with many side shoots. It comes from American ditches, ponds and small streams, where it can switch between emersed and submerged forms with the season. Regular trimming lets you build a dense bush in the middle of the tank.
- Scientific name
- Micranthemum umbrosum (J.F.Gmel.) S.F.Blake
- Classification
- Lamiales › Linderniaceae
- IUCN Red List
- Not evaluated (NE)
Natural habitat
North America, Central America, tropical South America, southern South America
Observations (GBIF) and localities Native countries Introduced in Rivers and lakes
- Native countries
- Introduced by people
Outside its native range, in 1 countries:
An aquarium plant must never reach the wild: throwing away cuttings or emptying a tank into a stream can be enough to establish it.
Countries: Kew World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP). Dots: GBIF observations in the native countries.
In the aquarium
Growing in the aquarium
Give it strong light: if it runs short, the lower leaves drop and the stems become fragile. CO₂ improves growth and leaf size, but growing without injection is possible. It can be slow to settle after a change of conditions. Cut and replant the shoots to gradually thicken the group.
Sources:Flowgrow Tropica GBIF POWO (Kew) · Base map: Natural Earth